Using AI for Your Personal Statement: Time-Saving Strategy or Risky Shortcut?
Key Takeaways:
AI tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly common in academic writing, and there are right and wrong ways to use it when writing the MSW personal statement.
AI tools can be helpful when it comes to the writing process, which includes brainstorming ideas, overcoming writer's block, and ensuring your work is grammatically correct.
Applicants should be careful that AI tools often lack nuance, and may give suggestions that are not in line with social work values.
While AI can be a helpful tool when writing, AI should not be used to write a personal statement for you.
Keep in mind that each school will have their own policy about use of AI and use a high degree of caution when using AI to write your personal statement
Introduction
The use of AI tools, especially in academic writing, is becoming increasingly common, but it is important to understand how to use it effectively and what its limitations are. In this post, I’ll cover whether you can use AI in your personal statement, what it can and can’t do, potential consequences of using AI, and whether AI can replace personalized statement editing.
Can You Use AI To Write Your MSW Personal Statement?
The short answer here is that yes, you can use AI to help during the writing process. However, you also do not have to use AI when writing your statement if you don’t want to. Although you can use it, this does not mean that you should use it for every single step during the writing process. Using AI for the personal statement strategically can be extremely helpful as you write, but ultimately, the personal statement also needs to be personal. With all that said, let’s look more closely at what AI can and can’t do when working on your personal statement!
Need help with your personal statement? Get a free copy of our personal statement template here.
What Can AI Do?
AI tools can be helpful as you work through the process of writing your personal statement. For example, AI can be useful in the early stages of the writing process to help with generating ideas or outlines for your statement. This can be especially helpful if you are feeling stuck with how to answer a question as it can provide you with some ideas as a starting point.
As an example, say you are stuck trying to answer a question like “Describe your skills (e.g.: volunteer/work) that you believe are relevant to social work” (University of Toronto). To get started on answering this question, you might ask an AI tool “What skills are used in (insert job) that are relevant to social work?” Then, based on the ideas it provides you, you could choose a few ideas based on what aligns most closely with your professional experience and goals to incorporate into your answer. In this way, AI tools can help you get the ball rolling in your writing, but you are still able to make sure that your personal statement is reflective of your experiences and perspectives.
Additionally, AI tools can be helpful for improving your statement from a grammar perspective. Since grammar is less subjective than other aspects of writing, tools like Grammarly can help make sure your writing is polished and error-free, while still allowing your personal voice to shine through in your writing.
What Can AI Not Do?
While AI tools have their helpful uses, there are also some major limitations on what AI can do when writing your personal statement. First and foremost, AI tools lack the social work-specific lens that can help make sure your statement aligns with the values and perspectives of the profession. Because of this, relying on AI tools can mean that your statement feels less tailored towards the profession which could weaken it overall.
In addition, while AI tools can be helpful when generating ideas, the ideas can lack specificity, personal perspective, and emotion. This is important when considering the social work personal statement because each of these elements can play a part in strengthening the statement as a whole.
Lastly, AI can be useful for feedback on aspects of writing like grammar and organization, but it is not able to provide personalized feedback based on your unique interests and experience. Due to this, the feedback received may end up being more general and won't be as useful when tailoring your MSW personal statement to the profession or the school you are applying for.
Need help with your social work personal statement? Meet with an application advisor for help!
Considerations When Using AI for Your Personal Statement
If you do decide to incorporate the use of AI tools when writing your personal statement, there are a few important considerations to take into account. Firstly, you should never copy and paste content (i.e. full sentences and paragraphs) directly into your statement. Not only does this go against most schools' academic integrity guidelines, it may also get flagged by an AI detector if the school you are applying to uses one. Similarly, it is important to remember not to rely too heavily on AI tools. Doing so could lead to a statement that is more generic, as opposed to one that highlights your unique story and background, which is important for social work applications.
Consequences of Using AI in Your Personal Statement
Depending on how you use AI when writing your social work personal statement, you may be faced with unintended consequences. Some schools may use AI detection as part of the personal statement reviewing process, so depending on how you use AI when writing your personal statement, your submission may flag these detectors. Depending on the school, this may also be seen as an academic integrity issue which is why it is important to use AI wisely rather than relying on it indiscriminately.
Additionally, relying heavily on AI when writing your personal statement could mean that your statement ends up lacking your own personal voice and perspective. While this can be okay for things like writing emails or creating a schedule, your personal perspective is one of the most important aspects of the MSW personal statement. If your statement sounds vague or generic, this can lead to a weaker statement. Instead, using AI to create ideas or refine grammar while making sure you are doing the actual writing can help ensure that your unique perspective is reflected throughout your statement, ultimately leading to a stronger application overall.
Can I Use AI to Edit My Personal Statement?
While AI tools are capable of editing written work, there are major limitations to their editing abilities especially compared to having your statement edited by a real person. First of all, as highlighted above, relying on AI tools for aspects of editing such as paraphrasing sentences could lead to your writing being flagged by an AI detector.
In addition to potential academic integrity issues, AI tools are not able to provide personalized comments and guidance based on your specific experience and goals. Additionally, AI tools are not capable of understanding the nuances of a social work lens or what MSW programs may be looking for in a personal statement. For instance, an AI editing tool may not be able to catch a specific or nuanced issue in your statement, such as certain phrasing that may be (mis)interpreted differently by social workers or MSW application reviewers. On the other hand, having your statement reviewed by someone who understands the field of social work and the MSW application process allows the opportunity to receive guidance on these specific issues.
Conclusion
In summary, AI can be a helpful tool as you work through the writing process, especially as you are getting started or if you are feeling stuck. That said, it is important to use caution when utilizing AI tools so that you can use them effectively while ensuring you are avoiding issues such as those related to academic integrity.
Additionally, it is important to note that AI editing features or tools are not a direct replacement for personalized feedback on your writing. Ultimately, the personal statement is about you and your personal perspective which can't be replaced or written by AI. By writing your statement yourself, with or without the help of AI, you will be able to make sure that your MSW personal statement is authentic and genuine, allowing you to put your best foot forward on your MSW application.
Don’t forget to check out our MSW Application Guide!
